MCCAIN TO HOLD HEARING ON THE FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF INDIAN TRIBES
October 9, 2005
U.S. Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, will hold an oversight hearing on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 9:30am on the Federal Recognition of Indian Tribes. The hearing will be held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building room 106 (SD-106).
The hearing will review the process by which an Indian group becomes an Indian tribe. The United States has recognized Indian tribes through treaties, by legislative action of the Congress or through administrative decisions of the Executive branch.
By recognizing an Indian group as an Indian tribe, the United States acknowledges the tribe's sovereign status and the existence of a formal government-to-government relationship between the tribe and the Federal government. Once established, recognition acknowledges a tribe's rights as a sovereign government, which may include access to Federal assistance programs and the conditions under which the laws of State and local governments apply on tribal lands. Among the issues to be examined is the effect of gaming on tribal recognition.
The Witnesses will include the Governor of Connecticut, representatives of the Department of Interior, a recently recognized Tribe, a petitioner under the 25 C.F.R. Part 83 regulations, a representative of a Virginia tribe and a local community activist group. In addition, it is anticipated that several members of Congress will present statements. The following is a DRAFT of the witness list, not for publication:
